Bob Donovan and the Milwaukee Streetcar

Alderman Bob Donovan is becoming a specialist in anti-streetcar press conferences. This time he held the press conference at a bar in his district instead of City Hall, and this time (too bad for those of us who like street theater) Alderman Bob Bauman chose not to attend. Bauman’s absence didn’t stop Donovan from referencing his own blow-up last week. In case any of you thought Donovan looked outflanked last week, he now claims that when he slammed his fist on the podium during the prior press conference Bauman soiled his pants (video).

I stand by my past prediction that Donovan will continue to create press releases and press conferences on the streetcar. It’s pretty apparent why Donovan has chosen this time to make it a big issue: Mayor Barrett is running for Governor, and Donovan doesn’t mind undercutting the mayor’s campaign. Win or lose for Barrett, Donovan is likely to be a lot less interested in this issue come June 6th.

A New Basketball Arena?

Yes, they’ve tried before, but it looks there will be renewed effort to create a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks, and this attempt– which is beginning to feel like a full court press — isn’t likely to be abandoned.  The announcement of naming rights for what will be known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center is the linchpin to the latest strategy. The MMAC, under the leadership of Tim Sheehy, helped broker a six-year naming rights deal with the new bank in town as well as handful of other sponsorships with other local companies. The $18 million in sponsorships (or $3 million a year) are to serve as a bridge to a new arena. They also send a signal that some of Milwaukee’s businesses (whose support has not been all that clear in the past) do see it as beneficial to have an NBA team in town.

It’s encouraging that the Uihleins have reversed their stance on the naming rights for the facility after publicly opposing such a deal in 2008. The worst thing that could happen to the facility would be losing its primary tenant — and Wisconsin’s only NBA franchise — to another city. BMO Harris will get increased brand name recognition, the Bucks will get a new revenue stream, and many will still call the building the Bradley Center. It’s a win for everyone.

Of interest from the fact sheet the Bucks released with the announcement is that the Bradley Center “draws 30% of its attendees from outside the four-county metro area of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha County,” which of course raises the issue of which taxpayers (if any) might be enlisted to help pay for a new arena — a very dicey subject. Also of interest in the NBA arena space race, the Golden State Warriors are inching closer to moving across the bay to San Francisco.

Jimmy Goldstein Could Buy the Milwaukee Bucks

Multi-millionaire and NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein seems like a candidate to buy the Milwaukee Bucks, albeit an outside one. The Los Angeles area resident holds courtside season tickets to both the Lakers and Clippers currently, but grew up in the Milwaukee area (his father owned Zahn’s department store in Racine for many years). He reveals in his GQ column that NBA Commissioner David Stern reached out to him previously about buying the Milwaukee Bucks, but the deal never came together because of Michael Jordan’s interest.

Current owner Herb Kohl is likely to sell the team in the not-too-distant future, and whether it comes before, after, or as part of a new arena being built is likely to be a crucial factor in retaining the Milwaukee franchise. A sale before a new arena would be the worst scenario: I think a Sonicsgate situation would leave a bitter taste in a lot of Milwaukeeans mouths.

Goldstein is well-known among the NBA blogosphere for crisscrossing the country during the playoffs to watch as many games as possible. He claims to have just come off a stretch where he attended 24 games in 23 days. He also owns a fairly well-known house that has appeared in a number of films. If you’re looking to get more acquainted with some interior shots of the iconic home, head to Lebowski Fest at Cathedral Square on June 22nd.

If he were to buy the team, Jimmy Goldstein would be the second Los Angeles-based owner of a Milwaukee sports team, following in the footsteps of Brewers owner Mark Attanasio. Including County Executive Chris Abele in a Goldstein ownership group would add a level of intrigue: which of the two long-time NBA courtside ticket holders, Goldstein or Abele, would get the best seats in the house?

Downtown Trolley is Back

The Milwaukee Trolley Loop returns May 30th.  It will operate Wednesdays through Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. until 9 p.m. The service will provide rides for $1. Service runs through September 8th.

The route remains unchanged from last year, but if anyone could draw it from memory I would be surprised. The trolley is undoubtedly a positive for downtown Milwaukee, but there’s no doubt a fixed guideway system like a streetcar would be an upgrade.

East Library Land Sale and UWM Zoning Change Approved by Common Council

The East Library redevelopment project continues to move forward. We reported earlier this week that up-zoning for the site had been recommended for approval by the City Plan Commission, and now the full City of Milwaukee Common Council has approved the land sale necessary for the deal. The Standard at East Library is set to open in the spring of 2014. More details on the project can be found on our East Library category page.

In addition, as referenced in last week’s Eyes on Milwaukee, UW-Milwaukee’s request for a zoning change for the former St. Mary’s Hospital was approved. At this point the university is not publicly planning a large expansion of student housing to the property. I failed to clarify last week that the action was taken up by the Zoning, Neighborhoods, and Development Committee, not the full Common Council, but this the full council gave its approval Tuesday.  It’s now awaiting the signature of the Mayor.

Car Culture

Every week day morning, gazillions of American get up, make coffee and then get behind the steering wheel, driving alone to work.  This pattern, of long solo commutes, has pushed household spending on auto-related expenses ever higher.  In fact, the average US household spent $80 a week — or $4,200 a year! — on gasoline in 2011.  What our car culture has brought us is not freedom, but a weekly bill that will only get bigger.

Recently, National Bike to Work Week offered us all an opportunity to break out of this pattern.  The Bike Federation of Wisconsin, with the help of numerous local volunteers and groups, as always did their best to make Bike to Work Week as fun, educational, and safe as possible for newbie and veteran cyclists.  Much like the Starbucks chain lines arterial roadways to offer motorists their morning fix, Milwaukee’s bike trails and routes had stands with coffee and food throughout the event.  While this event has led some people to leave the gas fueled commute behind, the Bike Fed is fighting decades of ingrained car culture.

But there’s hope for change in young America — the demographic bulge of Generation Y.  A new report “Transportation and the New Generation,” by the think tank Frontier Group, found Gen Y drives less and uses other forms of transportation more.  Vehicle miles traveled by people 16 to 34 from 2001 to 2009 saw a decrease of 23 percent, while their use of public transit rose by 40 percent and those biking rose 24 percent.  A recent Washington Post article questions, “Has the passion gone out of America’s fabled love affair with the automobile?”  The report says it’s not simply high gas prices or the Internet that is pushing Generation Y away from autos, but the fact that they “increasingly prefer to live in places where they can get around without getting in a car.”

Car culture, in short, is starting to be supplanted by urban culture.

Hello Officer, Again

It is as if Jim Morrison has risen from the dead again.  You’d think that crashing your car into a police squad would be a rare event, but apparently not in Wisconsin: Fox 6 News reports it has happened again.

Geez, you drivers, may we suggest: stop aiming at our men and women in blue. That’s a two-ton weapons you’re driving.

Bruised Ego

Bigger, faster, better right?  This is what car culture has taught us, and it is what strokes our collective ego.  The video below shows just a little bit of that ego on display.  It starts with the driver reviving the engine, showing off his tail feathers, proving they’re brighter and bigger than yours, and ends with a bad day for two innocent bystanders.  Car culture at its worst.

Dangerous Roads

There was lots more in the last couple weeks, from more routine accidents to one car crashing into a home.

• Two cars collide, one crashes into house and sparks fire
• One injured in four-vehicle crash on I-894 near Cleveland Ave.
• 11-year-old child hit, killed by car near Keefe and Port Washington Ave.
• Overturned semi ties up traffic on North Ave.
• Man arrested for OWI at lakefront had child in car
• Overnight rollover accident closes some SB lanes on I-43
• Two injured after two-car crash on State Highway 26
• Driver, passenger injured in Washington County crash

Loosen Your Belt to Cure Obesity

You can’t reduce congestion by building more roads. Tell that to the planners in Wisconsin.

• Interstate designation could be a job creator
• Instant Interstate Is Wisconsin’s Latest Economic Development Charade
• Meetings planned for Highway 41 interstate conversion.

Tweet of the Week

Car = freedom. I would hateeeee having to rely on people for rides.

— Lay•luh (@_CerebelLailamm) May 17, 2012

Like I said, it’s an ingrained culture.

Bob Bauman vs Bob Donovan

We reached out to Aldermen Bob Bauman and Bob Donovan to get their perspective on the Milwaukee Streetcar project following the press conference “debate”. We offered each alderman a 600 to 1000 word position piece on the streetcar project.

Alderman Bauman responded with his piece, which is included below. Alderman Donovan’s office never replied directly to our initial request, but Donovan’s aide Patty Doherty did leave a comment on the press conference article ending with “And that is the concise version of the 600-1000 words you requested.”

Alderman Robert Bauman on the Milwaukee Streetcar

Forward or Backward?

On July 26 of last year, the Common Council voted 10 to 5 to approve a 3.6 mile downtown streetcar line and approved $9.7 Million in tax incremental financing to match the $54.9 Million in federal transit funds to finance construction of the initial $64.5 Million, 2 mile segment of that 3.6 mile line (file #110324). Leading up to this debate, council members heard from many constituents including 36 witnesses at a public hearing (34 testified in favor and two testified in opposition), 163 letters of support from individuals and businesses and hundreds of email and phone communications that ran approximately 2 to 1 in favor of the streetcar. The council approved the streetcar for three basic reasons: job creation, economic development and improved mobility and connectivity.

First, this $64.2 Million public works investment would create hundreds of direct and indirect construction jobs and would create dozens of permanent jobs for operations and maintenance. Second, this investment would promote downtown economic development and increase the downtown tax base which would support basic city services throughout Milwaukee. Third, this new transit service in downtown and nearby neighborhoods would offer an entirely new transportation option for downtown workers, residents, shoppers, students, visitors, tourists and patrons of downtown bars, restaurants and sports, entertainment and cultural venues.

The streetcar was designed to supplement, not replace, existing bus service to and through downtown and to connect the refurbished Intermodal/Amtrak Station with the many downtown business, entertainment and cultural destinations as well as downtown residential areas and nearby residential neighborhoods. The streetcar corridor would serve 100% of downtown hotel rooms, 91% of first floor commercial & retail space, 90% of occupied office space and 77% of downtown residential units. In sum, last year’s council action represented a significant step forward toward the goal of establishing a modern, 21^st Century transit system throughout Milwaukee on par with all large and most mid-sized cities in the United States which have built or are building urban rail systems.

Nevertheless, there are some who want to stop progress and move us backwards. One argument is that the $54.9 Million in federal transit funds should be used for some other purpose. Various suggestions are offered such as subsidizing the existing bus system, filling pot holes, repaving local streets, rebuilding highways, or buying new buses. While each one of these uses represent a significant public need, the council determined back in July, 2011 that the $54.9 Million of federal transit funds could not be used for any purpose other than the construction of a downtown streetcar line based on a communication from the administrator of the Federal Transit Administration and advice from Milwaukee’s congressional delegation. In fact we were told that some of these suggested uses such as filing pot holes and repaving local streets were not and never have been eligible for any type of federal funding much less specifically appropriated transit funds.

The council determined that the choice was to move forward with a downtown streetcar line or send the money back to the federal government for reprogramming as a grant to another city building or planning new rail transit lines. In essence, the choice was between job creation, economic development and improved mobility and connectivity in Milwaukee or job creation, economic development and improved mobility in St. Louis, Salt Lake City or some other city. Based on this choice and the potential benefits of this investment in Milwaukee, a solid majority of council members voted to move forward instead of backward.

Another argument to stop progress and move us backward is that the streetcar will not “pay for itself”. Again, the council considered this argument at length and concluded first, that no public transit or rail system in the world “pays for itself”; second, that public transit is a public service just like police or fire protection which also do not “pay for themselves”; and third, in the case of the streetcar, it would pay for itself based on a clause in the legislation approving the project that stated that incremental property tax revenue generated by new development in the streetcar corridor had to exceed any public funds used for streetcar operations. Based on this analysis a solid majority voted to approve the streetcar.

Finally the advocates of moving us backward continually call for a referendum. Once again the council considered this question back on July 26, 2011. A resolution was offered to hold a referendum. It was defeated on a vote of 12 to 3.

However, since then we had a referendum. It is called an election. On April 3, 2012 nine of the 10 council members who voted for the streetcar project and the mayor were returned to office by overwhelming margins.

During last year’s streetcar debate, council members were well aware that a negative vote was the politically safe decision. Nevertheless, after considering the arguments for and against, a solid majority voted for the project because in the end they wanted to move this city forward.

Robert J. Bauman
Alderman, 4th District

Alderman Robert Donovan’s office on the Milwaukee Streetcar

Ald. Donovan did pose this [ed: a referendum] to the Common Council. It was voted down ONLY when an alternative proposal was introduced. The alternative proposal stated that not one cent will be spent on the Milwaukee Streetcar until a complete cost report is prepared by the Comptroller’s office and presented to the Council.

If the report comes back stating that the project will exceed $64 million, it is very likely that this item will go back to the Council floor to be rehashed. For Ald. Bauman to state that this has already been voted on and that’s the end is very misleading.

The Comptroller’s office is waiting for a decision from the State regarding who is responsible for the cost of moving the utilities. If it is decided that the City of Milwaukee has to pay for this, the project will be presented to the Council as “fiscally unfeasible”. At that point, changes can be made to the plan in order to bring the cost back down to $64 million. Once the cost of moving the utilities is factored in, this will be an impossible task.

If the decision from the State comes back in favoring the City over the utilities regarding the cost of moving the lines, the utilities will then publicly announce the total cost and state that they will recoup those costs from their customers – and not just the ones in the City of Milwaukee. 5 Council Members strongly support this project and 5 are opposed. Let’s see how the 5 in the middle vote once the Comptroller’s cost report comes back.

As for reallocating the funds, Governor Thompson had no problem getting this done after the original project for this grant fizzled out. After working out an agreement with the Mayor and County Executive from our area at that time, he petitioned the change at the Federal level and got it. For those of you who don’t know, the streetcar proposal was NOT what this money was originally allocated for.

And that is the concise version of the 600-1000 words you requested.

Patty Doherty

 

Bauman vs Donovan

Leave it to Ald. Bob Bauman to upstage Ald. Bob Donovan at his own press conference.

Continuing his efforts to derail the Milwaukee Streetcar, Donovan held a press conference Tuesday at City Hall challenging Mayor Tom Barrett’s position on the project. Donovan wants Barrett to promise a state subsidy for the project if he’s elected, or else put the entire project on hold. Donovan also continues to demand a referendum on the project, insisting that 70 percent of city residents oppose the project. Barrett and the rest of the Common Council have publicly ignored Donovan on this issue until yesterday. So Donovan called his press conference to dramatize his views, only to have Bauman unexpectedly join him at the podium. It was a strange twist to what was supposed to the be standard, one-sided press conference. Instead, a largely one-sided shouting match occurred.

Said Bauman to the other Bob: “I’m not going to let you lie to the public.” Bauman said Donovan was “showboating” and making “wild assertions” instead of “taking action,” noting that the federal money can’t be appropriated for another purpose and would be sent to another city if the Milwaukee project doesn’t move forward.

Donovan wasn’t having it. He started repeating “shame on you” to his fellow Bob, after Bauman claimed Donovan was demonstrating an aversion to the City of Milwaukee. Then, after weathering a few sarcastic remarks about his hatred for the city, Donovan waved his hand and walked away. But the show wasn’t over, as the Bobs continued to trade barbs from across the room.

While I don’t support Bauman’s hijacking of Donovan’s press conference (other than for the entertainment value), Bauman did manage to rather easily paint Donovan as a man of many words and little action when it comes to the streetcar. Why doesn’t Donovan introduce a file to the Common Council for a referendum on the project? Bauman noted that Donovan has proposed a referendum in the past, and his proposal was voted down. Bauman also noted that the money can’t be used for road repairs and that the federal government would send it elsewhere, to which Donovan didn’t have a clear solution.

To score points with his base and talk radio, Bob Donovan appears perfectly content to grandstand on this issue. He has used the 70 percent opposition claim numerous times, but can’t seem to back up the figure. In November he claimed to have collected about 900 signatures in opposition, far short of the approximately 320,000 he would need (that would be 70 percent of those over 18 in Milwaukee) to prove his point.

Donovan has claimed in the past he doesn’t have time to go around circulating a citywide petition against the streetcar. But more than likely, he’ll have time for press release after press release bashing the streetcar, until the rails are in the ground.

UPDATE: I was unable to make the original press conference, and have relied on the raw video from Fox 6 to draw my conclusions. I have been informed that missing from the raw video is the the uninterrupted statement Donovan gave to begin the presentation, followed by a similarly uninterrupted one from Bauman. The back and forth between Bauman and Donovan began after both had been given the chance to speak. Why those original statements are not included in the raw video segment from Fox 6 is anyone’s guess.

Talgo Open House

The elegant Talgo trainsets ordered by the Doyle administration for the Amtrak Hiawatha are nearly complete. But will they ever be used?

Alas, Sunday is quite possibly the only day you will ever get to go inside them. Tours, children’s activities, and refreshments will be available at the Talgo assembly facility from noon until 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 20th. The facility is located in the Century City redevelopment area at 3533 North 27th Street. Off-site parking is available, with MCTS Routes 27 and 80 getting you there as well.

If you can’t make it Sunday, the trainsets are also currently visible from south side of the facility on W. Townsend Avenue between 27th and the railroad bridge.

Strategically ordered before federal high speed rail grants were announced, the purchase contract pushed Wisconsin to the top of the list and netted Wisconsin $810 million to extend the Hiawatha to Madison and buy more trainsets. Governor Walker’s campaign against the poorly marketed train resulted in the federal government re-appropriating the funds to other states.

The trainsets face an uncertain future following the State Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee decision to cancel funding for a permanent maintenance base for the equipment. It remains unclear if the state will put the trainsets into service utilizing the temporary maintenance base (the assembly facility), or mothball the trainsets once they’re complete (potentially violating their contract with Talgo).

Hopefully someday the trainsets will be in use in Wisconsin. Until then I’ll just shake my head at the insane series of decisions taken merely to score political points. I do look forward to seeing our former high-speed rail funds at work when I take the Amtrak Lincoln Service, a corridor being upgraded to higher speed rail, to St. Louis this summer.

Downtown Block Party

The parking lot between 4th and 5th streets on the south side of Wisconsin Ave will finally see some activity this summer thanks to a handful of groups working to change the way Wisconsin Avenue is perceived (starting with rebranding it the WAM District). First up is a tailgate party hosted by Pabst Theater and NEWaukee on May 25th that includes the live broadcast of a Milwaukee Brewers game. The Downtown Baseball Block Party has live music starting at 6:30, a live broadcast by the FSN broadcasting team, food trucks for those that don’t bring their own grills, and a cash bar. The fun will go until midnight. There is a Facebook event with more information.

Another event is planned for June 14th in conjunction the Milwaukee IndyFest race. The Milwaukee IndyFest Street Party will kick off the three-day event that culminates in an internationally televised IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile. The kickoff event will include a car show, House of Harley-Davidson parade, driver appearances, food trucks, and beer stations.

While I would have rather seen the proposed Catalyst development by the Ghazi Company occupying this parking lot, I’m thrilled to see groups programming the space for more than just parking. NEWaukee and the Pabst Theater have a history of drawing thousands of people to their events (Young Professional Week, Fish Fry and a Flick). Hopefully this is just the start of good things to come for Wisconsin Avenue.

Bike Use on Buses Doubles

A press release by the Milwaukee County Transit System shows bike use is growing by leaps and bounds. County buses transported 95,000 bicycles in all of 2011, but through April 30th of this year, over 29,000 bicycles were transported, more than double last year’s numbers through the same period (12,695). Whether it’s this year’s mild weather or increased awareness that is driving the increased usage, it’s encouraging to see ever more cyclists take advantage of the racks.

For more information on how to put utilize the racks, see the MCTS webpage and video Bikes on Buses.

Explore the Historic Concordia Neighborhood with Historic Milwaukee, Inc. on Saturday

Historic Milwaukee’s annual Spaces & Traces event features the Historic Concordia neighborhood this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with tours of 13 historically prominent residences and businesses in the near west side neighborhood. Tickets to the event are $25 , and $20 for HMI members and there’s a five dollar price increase if you wait till the the day of the event. Also included are a lecture by John Gurda about the architectural and cultural history of the neighborhood (at 11:00 a.m.), one by Alderman Bauman, a long-time neighborhood resident, on living in and representing the neighborhood (1 p.m.), and a special Miller Brewery tour (4 p.m.) More information is available on the Historic Milwaukee website.

HMI will also present Alderman Bob Bauman with the 31st annual Spaces & Traces Historic Preservation Award tonight at Fred’s Pub.

Kudos to HMI for their efforts in putting on the annual Spaces & Traces event, which allows for an up close look at Milwaukee’s history.

UWM Gains Zoning Approval for Columbia Hospital Redevelopment

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was granted a zoning change for the former Columbia Hospital that will allow the school to expand into the complex of buildings now known as the Northwest Quadrant (file #101472). The university acquired the complex in December 2010.  This change allows UWM to fully use the former hospital as part of the university campus. Various pieces of the complex are already in service given that they comply with existing zoning regulations (parking garage, coffee shop, and offices).

As part of the zoning change, UWM Chancellor Michael Lovell voluntarily agreed to cap the number of students living in the former Columbia College of Nursing building at 90 Honors students (UWM leased a portion of the building for student housing in the past). Should the university wish to expand the number of students living in the Honors College facility to 200 in the next ten years, the university will first seek a public hearing and advisory ruling by an appropriate City body. Prior to the end of the ten year period UWM will consult with the Mariner Neighborhood Association or any successor, and the appropriate City body to determine if the commitment should be extended. We have re-posted the statement from Chancellor Lovell for your convenience.

The only vote against the zoning change was cast by Alderman Bauman. Bauman wants to see UWM place student residences throughout the city instead of concentrating them on the Upper East Side campus.

I believe the growth of UWM as a top-tier university is good for the city as well as the school, and am happy to see a resolution was found to neighborhood concerns about the university’s expansion. If only this land could have been used for an engineering school, as opposed to a new campus being created in western Wauwatosa.

The Moderne Meeting Hiring Requirements

As part of the city financing package that went towards The Moderne, developer Rick Barrett (Barrett Visionary Development), general contractor J.H. Findorff & Son, and technical coordinator Prism Technical are required to meet certain Emerging Business Enterprise (EBE) and Residence Preference Program (RPP) requirements. To-date, The Moderne has complied with both. Through March 31st, EBE participants received 26 percent of the adjusted construction budget totaling approximately $4.5 million. Through February 29th, RPP participants logged 41,000 hours or 30.4 percent of on-site construction hours. Minimum requirements were 25 and 30 percent respectively.

This information was presented before the Zoning, Neighborhoods, & Development committee. Alderman Michael Murphy noted that “the project is ahead of schedule, under budget, and is a beautiful building.” Committee Chair Alderman Jim Bohl added “this has been a very big success, and we will continue to build off of it.”

More information is available in the report presented to the committee, or on the file in Legistar (#120016).

Kids Ride Free on Amtrak Hiawatha This Summer

Children ages 2 to 15 can ride free on the Amtrak Hiawatha on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between June 1st and August 26th. Up to two children can receive free tickets when accompanied by a paid full fare adult. To claim the offer use discount code V813.

I’ve written a column in the past asking for more creative pricing for the Hiawatha (Amtrak Should Innovate with Hiawatha Service Pricing). This is a step in the right direction.

Openings and Closings

If you’re looking for the Openings and Closings section of Eyes on Milwaukee, you will need to hold off for a few days. We’re spinning the section off into its own piece to debut in the next week.

Car Culture

In this edition of Car Culture, just how green are electric cars? Plus, more on texting and driving, and the other side of “pleasure driving.”

Electric Charging Stations

The City of Milwaukee is beginning to install electric charging stations at multiple locations around town in an attempt to promote and support electric vehicles.  With the dual threats of climate change and peak oil bearing down on us, moving away from gasoline, and back, yes back, to electric vehicles is long overdue.  The use of electric cars may reduce our dependency on oil, and in the long run (over decades) could reduce or eliminate auto emissions, but electric car technology is at this point far from perfect.

Sure, the concept of a green and clean electric car sounds wonderful, but it doesn’t actually exist.  One day could these electric cars could run on 100% renewable energy, but unfortunately, in Milwaukee today they will be using electricity generated by the dirtiest coal fired electrical plant in Wisconsin.  We Energies has made noise about converting to cleaner, not clean, natural gas, which would help make our air cleaner and electric cars greener, but we are not there yet.

And even if these charging stations and our homes are one day putting out power that is 100% renewable an electric car still won’t be completely green, it won’t be any safer than any gas guzzling Impala, and doesn’t solve the land-use issues created by a car-oriented America.  The green credentials of an electric car come up a bit short as approximately 50% of the pollution generated by a car comes during  its manufacturing and disposal.  Safer?  No, people will simply get behind the wheel of an electric, instead of fossil fueled, car and proceed to crash into things and or people when drunk.  And finally, land will continue to be gobbled up for parking, expansive roadways will continue to divide neighborhoods and cover over farmland, and these cars will only further our auto-dependent lifestyle by encouraging us to sprawl further and further apart.

Texting and Driving Part Deux

In the first edition of Car Culture I mentioned that Wisconsin teenagers were gathering to learn about the dangers of texting and driving. I believe the video below should have been required viewing at that meeting.  The video comes from Belgium where a few new drivers got punked, and learned an invaluable lesson when they were informed they had to pass the “mobile phone test.” They all failed miserably when put to the “test,” showing just how dangerous it can be to text and drive.  One of the punked drivers wraps up the message saying, “It’s too dangerous.” I agree.

http://youtu.be/HbjSWDwJILs

Weekend Fun

A recent blog post on the First Weber website suggests taking a drive for some fun this weekend.  On the surface it seems innocuous, but it is yet another example of how the automobile, which primarily is a tool to get from A to B, has become something more.  I’ll admit it, when I was 16 “going for a drive” was a fun way to spend a weekend eventing.  I understand now that while driving around aimlessly can be fun, but it can also be wasteful, costly, and pointless.  Yes, we do have a car culture, as you can see from the following accidents of the week:

Dangerous Roads

• Three cars collide near 60th and Brown Deer
• Seven injured after school bus collides with car in Germantown
• Weather may be to blame for two-car crash on I-43
• Car smashes into tree, catches fire
• One dead in rollover crash near Wausau
• Woman run over and killed in West Allis may have been hit first by another car

Loosen Your Belt to Cure Obesity

You can’t reduce congestion by building more roads. But we’re still doing it.

• I-794 extension endorsed by Milwaukee County committee
• West Allis not happy with state’s plan to widen Highway 100
• Ground to be broken Friday for new Drexel Ave. interchange

Tweet of the Week

A tree never hits an automobile except in self defense. Stay alive, don’t drink and drive. twitter.com/TempePolice/st…

— Tempe Police (@TempePolice) May 6, 2012

Traffic engineers used to remove street trees, because they were dangerous to automobile drivers.  I’m glad to see the Tempe Police understand trees aren’t the issue.

Car Culture

In this, the second installment of Car Culture, we’ll enjoy a little bit of Disney magic, learn about a long overdue car service which is finally coming to Milwaukee, and lament the loss of an opportunity to make Milwaukee a better place while attracting tourists from across the region.

Disney’s Magic Highways

For years we have been taught that our society is, and will be, oriented around the automobile.  US automakers did it by marketing the automobile as freedom, and the video below shows just how the fine folks at Disney got into the act.  The video presents an idealized version of a car-oriented vision of America.  The video positively proclaims “the shape of our cities will change, as expanded highway transportation decentralizes our population centers into vast urban areas.”  Unfortunately, this has all been too true.  What this video didn’t foresee was the ugliness that this vision created, neighborhoods literally destroyed, homes designed around the car (often with the most prominent feature being the garage), America’s strip mall wasteland, and oceans of asphalt covering up our countryside.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6pUMlPBMQA[/youtube]

Designated Driver Service

Lets face it Milwaukeans enjoy a good beverage, and unfortunately far too often bring their car with them to the bar.  Although I’d normally suggest leaving the car at home and taking a cab when heading out on the town, there will soon be a safe option if you insist on bringing your car to the bar.  Zingo Milwaukee.  Zingo’s motto “Your car, our driver” says it all.  Yes, they will drive your car home for you.  So plan ahead, go out, have a good time, and enjoy the ride home in your own car, just not from behind the wheel.

Opportunity Lost

Stephanie Beecher, of ThirdCoast Digest, writes “Milwaukee’s famous arches are set to undergo a major overhaul next year, and commuters can breathe a sigh of relief: the Hoan Bridge will not be shut down during construction.”  I know this was a big concern for many suburban commuters, though had the bridge been closed during construction it would likely have saved time and money.  If the Hoan Bridge was closed during construction, it is likely these drivers would have spent just about the same amount of time driving on city streets or alternate routes, just as they did when the Hoan was closed in the past.

Beyond the perceived inconvenience, the true problem with this project is the lost opportunity.  After hundreds of millions are spent to fix this bridge, what we will have is basically the same bridge.  The auto-only focus of WisDOT has led to a project that is not an improvement, and has no new benefits.  B y incorporating a bike and pedestrian trail on the bridge, Wisconsin had a chance to create a destination, add utility, improve mobility, and quite simply add value to Milwaukee. Unfortunately we’ve missed that opportunity.

Dangerous Roads

• Three-car crash leaves one dead, four injured near city’s west side
• Deputies arrest wrong-way driver after crash on Hoan Bridge
• Public Works evaluating 51st and Meinecke after child killed
• Driver in crash that killed 2 was intoxicated
• West Allis mother, son killed in separate crashes Sunday morning
• Portage County crash kills three
• Milwaukee officer suspended after drunken-driving crash
• One dead in western Wisconsin crash
• 35-year-old woman injured after minivan hits truck on Hwy. 151

Loosen Your Belt to Cure Obesity

• I-94 update with Ryan Luck
• Milwaukee County: Requesting an extension of the Lake Parkway and added to regional transportation plan by SEWRPC and preliminary engineering by WisDOT
• US 41 to become interstate by 2014

Tweet of the Week

I thought autocorrect was swerving your car back into your lane after drifting over while tweeting.

I thought autocorrect was swerving your car back into your lane after drifting over while tweeting.

I thought autocorrect was swerving your car back into your lane after drifting over while tweeting.

— Major Unzipped Fly (@ImaFlyontheWall) May 4, 2012

I’m sure this is trying to be funny, but I find it scary.

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Eyes on Milwaukee

The 11th installment of Eyes on Milwaukee focuses on transit, development, and new restaurants. The Downtown Transit Center’s redevelopment is inching closer to reality. The Milwaukee Museum Mile is a new marketing effort for some overlooked museums. Service reductions are coming to the Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha commuter bus service. Lower East Side residents are getting a glimpse of what a modern bus system could entail, and the Milwaukee City Clerk is still tweeting, thankfully.

Downtown Transit Center Redevelopment Moving Along, Proposals Received

The long overdue redevelopment of the Downtown Transit Center is moving along. I’ve advocated for this redevelopment before, as the Downtown Transit Center is located on the lakefront, not the center of town, and is used as a bus staging area, not a major transfer point. Most recently, the deadline for proposals past and Milwaukee County announced their were “a handful” of submissions, which was what the County expected given the scale of the project.

What did the submissions include? A high-rise apartment tower, hotel, and mixed public-private uses. What should you think about this? Most importantly, avoid judging a book by its cover. At this point, the financial details of the projects aren’t publicly available, and it’s impossible for an outsider to assess the viability of any of the proposals. It is, however, encouraging that proposals have come back.

The next step in the process will take place in front of the Milwaukee County Transportation, Public Works, and Transit Committee on May 9th, 2012, where the Director of the Department of Transportation (former WisDOT head Frank Busalacchi) is requesting authorization to declare the facility surplus and offer it for sale.

Milwaukee Museum Mile

Five Milwaukee museums, that are too often overlooked, have banded together to create the Milwaukee Museum Mile. The Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Charles Allis Art Museum, Museum of Wisconsin Art at St. John’s On The Lake, Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum and North Point Lighthouse at Lake Park all will be part of the marketing effort, which kicks off this weekend. Sunday, May 6th, admission will be free to all of the museums between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Light refreshments and shuttle service will be provided, but if it’s a nice day out I suggest walking between the museums. All of the museums are located either on Prospect Avenue or a few blocks East.

I’m happy to see this collaborative marketing effort, and I hope it succeeds. When many think of museums in Milwaukee they think of the Milwaukee Art Museum, then the Milwaukee Public Museum, maybe Discovery World and the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, and that’s it. Milwaukee has far more than that, and it’s time those institutions band together to draw more attention.

Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha Commuter Bus Service Cuts Coming

Due to the wording in the recent Wisconsin state budget and subsequent cuts in state and federal funding, a 10 to 15% reduction in service is coming to the Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha commuter bus service. The route currently links UWM, Milwaukee Intermodal Station, General Mitchell Airport, downtown Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Caledonia, Carthage College, Racine and Kenosha including bus stations and the Metra train station, with several additional stops along the route. The service is scheduled to be reduced from eight to seven trips per weekday.

Under the recently rebid contract, Wisconsin Coach Lines, the only respondent, will continue to operate the service. The line, which is administered by the City of Racine, received $715,000 in state and federal aid last year. The commuter bus service will begin serving UW-Parkside for at least two trips a day as part of the service changes. Parkside is currently not linked to Racine by bus after a route was eliminated in 2006.

In a related change, the line will no longer connect to UWM starting May 20th, and will instead terminate at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

The Racine Transit Commission has scheduled a hearing on the changes on May 16th, at 4:30 P.M. at Racine City Hall.

Better Bus Service Temporarily for Lower East Side

Due to construction along Oakland Avenue between North Avenue and Brady Street, Lower East Side bus riders are getting a taste of what a better version of Milwaukee’s express bus service could be like. The new MetroEXpress Green Line (Bayshore to the Airport) has been temporarily rerouted onto the one-way pair of Farwell and Prospect Avenues while Oakland is closed. The route 30, which operates on the pair is sharing select stops with the Green Line. This presents riders at many stops with two options to get downtown with a bus roughly every five minutes to get downtown. While the increase in service at individual stops is certainly welcome, the express service isn’t much faster than the standard service provided by the 30 route.

The “express” Green Line is the product of the use federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds by Milwaukee County to plug a continually deteriorating Milwaukee County Transit System budget. Stops were removed to make the service comply with CMAQ funding standards, but not enough to make the service significantly faster than the previous Route 15. This was done to avoid a significant reduction in service as the standard service currently operating where much of the new service was deployed was eliminated.

In an ideal world, with a well-funded bus transit system, express service with stops approaching every half-mile would operate on much the same route as standard service with stops every eighth of a mile with both services having frequent headways. This would help draw increased ridership, provide more frequent and faster service to many, and enabled infrastructure investment and transit-oriented development around key stops. While not completely delivering, the detour at the least gives Lower East Side riders a glimpse of what could be.

New Milwaukee City Clerk Still Tweeting

Jim Owczarski is still tweeting, albeit from a different account. The new Milwaukee City Clerk is continuing his live tweeting of City of Milwaukee Common Council meetings at his new account @MKEClerk. I had speculated about this in a prior Eyes on Milwaukee column.

Development News

There are only a few more days to get your team together to purchase the failed Residences on Water – Staybridge Suites hotel development. As previously mentioned the auction will take place May 8th at the Milwaukee Athletic Club.

The law firm, which is currently in the 411 Building on Wisconsin Ave, is exploring other space options in east end of downtown.   At the very least, Quarles & Brady is attempting to get a better deal on their lease. At the most, they are seeking to move their sign to the top of a new office tower. That said, there aren’t any other buildings in the area that have the space available to house the firm. Will the dormant Washington Square Tower proposal, which was dealt a setback when Baker Tilley signed a lease to move to the US Bank Center, be the future home of Quarles? Or could they end up in another new building?  BizTimes has more.

Downtown condo sales rose 122% year-over-year in April according to the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors. After all was said and done, 51 units changed hands in April of 2012. Andrew Weiland has more.

The raze order is up on the Sydney Hih building.

Openings and Closings

The Boardroom is now open at 628 N. Water Street. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Boone and Crocket, from the creators of the East Side’s Hotel Foster, hopes to be open by May. The bar will be located at 2151 S. Kinnickinic Avenue. Both spaces are owned by Doug Williams, Mike Kempka, and John Revord.

c.1880 (pronounced “circa 1880) has opened in Walker’s Point. The new restaurant at 1100 S. 1st Street is led by Chef Thomas Hauck.

The Fast Foodie has some new bikes to compliment their food trailer.

Roots is closed temporarily as some spring renovations take place.

The former Sil’s Mini Donut Shop won’t be closed for long. It was unusual that the building’s owner declined to renew their lease, and now we know why. The owners of Chubby Cheesesteaks, located a stone’s throw away, will open The Drive-Thru in the space. Molly Snyder reports they will sell Alterra coffee, hotdogs, sloppy joes, and “the exact same” mini donuts. Sil’s had quite the long line on Sunday, their last day in business at the North Ave location.

Sven’s Downtown has quietly opened. The second location for the cafe is located at 624 N Water Street

Photo of the Week

Plankinton Arcade Ceiling by Wrokic

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Car Culture

Welcome to the first installment of Car Culture.  It will be a place for us to talk, think, and explore our addiction to the automobile.  Don’t fear, it’s not about how much I hate cars, and isn’t about forcing you to take the bus or ‘worse’ yet ride your bike. It is about understanding the history of our love affair with the automobile, and its true costs and consequences.  Often forgotten or hidden away is that the rise of car culture has had devastating impacts on the built environment, the natural environment, and our society.

We’ll start off with a little trip down memory lane to see how we came to believe that the car is freedom.  Then we’ll talk about two ridiculous crashes, and learn about distracted driving.  Additionally, each week there will be the regular features of Dangerous Roads, Loosening Our Belt to Cure Obesity, and Tweet of the Week.

Freedom Brought to You by the American Auto Industry

U.S. automakers successfully sold the American public that access to an automobile is “freedom”, and that an automobile is an inalienable right, not a responsibility.  For decades millions of dollars have been spent marketing this concept to us.  It is so ingrained in our belief system that I’ve actually had friends tell me ‘my car is freedom’.  Yes, marketing works.  I’ve included just a two of the numerous examples where U.S. automakers have tied your freedom, to the car, sometimes quietly and other times they come right out and say it.

“Why be stuck with one expensive car when you can enjoy all the fun, and freedom of two Fords”, questions the speaker for Ford Motor company in this commercial from the 50′s.

This one from Dodge in 2010 continues the tradition while drawing a direct line from freedom, in fact the Revolution, to the automobile.

So don’t confuse by what we’ve been sold, a bill of goods, and what is actually true, freedom certainly doesn’t require a car.

Hello Officer

You’d expect that crashing your car into a police car was a rare event, apparently not as this happened twice during the month of April in Wisconsin.  I suppose crashing your car into a squad car is essentially the same as smashing into any regular citizen’s car, but talk about ‘distracted’ driving.  Please folks, don’t drive into the flashing lights.

Put the Phone Down

Hundreds of students came together recently to learn about the dangers of texting and driving, and that’s a good lesson to learn.  According to a recent Bridgestone study 53% of teens answered “I don’t believe I get too distracted while driving”, which if was actually true would be great but it’s more likely they are under reporting the truth, especially when considering that a third responded saying they read texts while driving.  And it isn’t just teens that need to learn that distracted driving is distracted driving, all drivers need to understand that just about any activity and driving is usually a bad combination.  Your focus, motor skills, and judgement can be impaired, and when you are wielding a 4,000 pound weapon against unarmored pedestrians and bicyclists that’s a problem.  Let’s put the phone down as we can be dangerous to ourselves and others.

Dangerous Roads

• Unlicensed driver charged in crash that killed Milwaukee boy
• Student struck by vehicle near Wadewitz Elementary School
• Germantown police find body in submerged vehicle
• Man seriously injured in crash; I-894 lanes closed
• CAUGHT ON CAM: Car drives through pizza shop
• 17-year-old arrested for OWI with minor passengers
• Two arrested over the weekend for fourth OWI in separate incidents
• 44-year-old Sturtevant woman arrested for sixth OWI

Loosening Our Belt to Cure Obesity

• State details plans for expanding Interstate 39-90
• Information session Wednesday on Hoan rebuild

Tweet of the Week

Why is it that divorced men are more Iikely to meet their car payments than their child support obligations?

— ILLUMINATI (@ILLUMlNATI) April 23, 2012

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One view of the city from the 40th floor of the US Bank Center

If you care about transit in Milwaukee, or if you simply want the best view of the city available, come to the 40th floor of the US Bank Center next Monday night, April 16th from 5:30 until 8:00 for a cocktail hour and discussion on the future of transit in Milwaukee and how we move through the city.

The cocktail hour comes complete with a cash bar and appetizers. The event will be held in the offices of Foley & Lardner on the 40th floor of the US Bank Center, the tallest building in Wisconsin.

If you’re able to pry your eyes away from the windows,  a panel discussion will follow the cocktail hour moderated by Alex Runner, with panelists Alderman Robert Bauman, Alderman Nik Kovac, and myself. The panel will begin with a focus on the Milwaukee Streetcar project, but there will be ample time for the  audience to ask questions.

The event is free, but you will need to be in before 6 p.m. to gain access. Please RSVP via our Facebook event, or on YPWeek.com.

We hope to see you there, and at other Young Professional Week events. Milwaukee’s first Young Professional Week is being led by NEWaukee.

If you’re looking for Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Eyes on Milwaukee column, it will arrive on Thursday. I’m conducting research on how easy and enjoyable it is to take the Amtrak Hiawatha to Wrigley Field to watch the Milwaukee Brewers stomp the Chicago Cubs.

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Eyes on Milwaukee

Welcome to the fourth installment of Eyes on Milwaukee. This week we take a look at free bus rides for St. Patrick’s Day, the idea of applying Moneyball principles to project renderings, how Police Chief Flynn has apparently managed to cut in half the service calls originated from MCTS buses, the notion of a new union for UWM, and more.

Free Bus Rides

The Milwaukee County Transit System will be giving away free bus rides again on St. Patrick’s Day thanks to MillerCoors. Starting at 6 p.m. on March 17th until the end of service all rides will be free. This excellent partnership has been in place since 1994.

Ridership is up overall in the past year.

Rendering-to-Reality Ratio

Mary Louise Schumacher is seeking opinions on The Moderne in her latest column, “The Moderne, an early peek.” She introduces the idea of the “rendering-to-reality ratio,” which as she defines it is “the degree to which a finished building fulfills the vision presented in the architects’ renderings.”

The notion of a ratio to quantify the reality versus the rendering is worthwhile if only for the fact that I think public sentiment is altered by the quality of many renderings.

Given that Micheal Lewis isn’t coming to town to write a book about the Moneyball-esque evaluation potential of our local architects, what do you say we give it a try? What architecture firms consistently produce renderings that end up matching reality?

Flynn’s Bus Patrols Making a Big Impact

Evidence is starting to leak out that the bus patrols put in place by Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn are working in a big way. As was recently mentioned at a meeting of the City of Milwaukee Public Transportation Review Board, incidents on buses are down approximately 45% since Flynn started having patrols board buses as part of their regular duty.

The battle between Chief Flynn and Sheriff Clarke over the issue stems from a reduction in sheriff’s deputies at Milwaukee County. On the face of it, Flynn appears to have generated a big reduction in the number of incidents by simply placing police patrols on buses for brief periods between 2 and 4 p.m.

Hopefully MCTS makes more data available on the issue soon.

A New Union for UWM?

The UWM Post thinks it’s time to start over with the Student Union. I agree. The building should serve as a gateway to campus. It would also serve as a great forum for Professor Donald Shoup, author of The High Cost of Free Parking, to give a lecture on parking policy, an issue both Dave Reid and I weighed in on last week.

Development News

Russ Davis is looking to put a new restaurant in the Menomonee Valley. Before anyone question’s the wisdom of locating a restaurant near a coal power plant, stop to remember that Sobelman’s serves up some of the best burgers in town from the valley, as well as the nearby locations of the tourist magnet Harley-Davidison Museum and Potawatomi Casino.

The Clock Shadow Building (sometimes referred to as the Milwaukee Fix) is nearing completion on South 2nd Street. The Journal Sentinel has a great run-down on the project, noting that the project achieves a higher standard than even LEED Platinum requires. The building is quite possibly the greenest building in Milwaukee.

Dermond Property Investments will bring their Lower East Side apartment proposal for 1601 N Jackson Street (Jackson and Pleasant) before the City Plan Commission again on Monday. Their revised plan increases the number of units to 36 and increases the number of parking stalls from 34 to 38, as well as ever so slightly setting the building back. NIMBY concerns about the height and amount of parking were raised at the initial meeting.

Holding the file in January seemed odd given that the development would sit just up the hill from The North End and the Flatiron Condominiums, two projects that have a very urban form. Hopefully the City Plan Commission approves the project this time around.

The City has a project page on the Dermond proposal.

I missed mentioning this in the past, but hopefully you’ve already heard, the former Grand Cinemas lobby on West Wisconsin Avenue will be converted into an information booth on downtown Milwaukee for visitors. The location will be staffed at least 40 hours a week by Milwaukee Downtown. The idea originated with Dan Casanova at the Department of City Development.

Milwaukee Magazine has a profile of Barry Mandel.

Alderman Bauman continues to lead the hunt for more documentation on the Kohl’s negotiations.

Openings and Closings

Russ Davis is working towards a new restaurant (see the Development News)

Oro di Oliva is going to open a new location at the Milwaukee Public Market, replacing the recently departed Rupena’s.

Clutch Milwaukee, the new tapas restaurant to open at 1504 E. North Ave, is moving along. It looks like the restaurant is set to open April 1st.

Photo of the Week

I went a different route for Photo of the Week this week, and opted for a photo of one of the new streetcar shelters for the Portland Streetcar. This stop represents a cheap upgrade to the stop that can give an ordinary bus shelter a better sense of place.

New Portland Streetcar Stop at MLK and Couch

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I-94 Construction

Welcome to the second weekly installment of Eyes on Milwaukee, a new column running down what’s happening in urban Milwaukee.

Did Milwaukee Dodge a Bullet by Failing to Land Kohl’s HQ?

The relationship between Target and Minneapolis has recently shown that Milwaukee might have dodged a bullet by failing to land Kohl’s. Target recently announced they’re moving 3,900 jobs from their downtown headquarters to a suburban location. Curiously they’re also leasing an additional 200,000 square-feet of space downtown, and have acquired a handful of nearby parcels.

I know big projects are sexy, but give me 1,000 five-employee companies before one 5,000 employee company who demands large public subsidies.

New Highway Construction in Milwaukee County

The Hoan Bridge was known as the “Bridge to Nowhere” for a number of years, and with a proposed extension of the Lake Parkway could become known as the “Bridge to a 200 Million Dollar Highway that runs parallel to a 1.8 Billion Dollar Highway”. While I don’t see the new name catching on, the point still stands.

The proposed $207 million extension of the Lake Parkway (Wisconsin Highway 794) would add nearly six miles to the southern end of the highway. Supervisor Patricia Jursik has championed the plan, and views it as a first step towards extending the Lake Parkway the entire way to the Illinois state line.

Area residents will get a chance to comment on that concept at a public information meeting Wednesday at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 901 15th Ave. The session will run from 6 to 8 p.m., mainly in open-house format, with a presentation and question-and-answer session starting at 6:30 p.m. – Journal Sentinel

Mobility is an important issue for the region, no question. I just can’t see the need to build a new freeway-grade highway in a very-low density corridor when there is a $1.8 billion project underway less than 3 miles west that will add a lane in each direction as well as a number of other congestion-reducing reconfigurations to existing interchanges and ramps.

It seems to me the more logical thing to do is to make smaller enhancements north and south, and focus on better connectivity with the recently expanded Interstate 94 to the west.

For what it’s worth, the projected capital costs of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail project were $232.7 million.

Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines Game of Musical Chairs Drawing to a Close

A lot is changing at General Mitchell these days, and that’s going to have ripple effects throughout Milwaukee. With Frontier slicing their daily departures from Milwaukee from 67 in 2011 to 20 by the summer of 2012, and reducing their workforce locally by up to 446 people, the door appears wide open for a new airline to brand itself as Milwaukee’s major airline.

Southwest Airlines is moving to take the mantle of Milwaukee’s major airline, at least for now, by paying to become the official airline of the Milwaukee Brewers.

No word yet on when the Frontier Airlines Center (formerly Midwest Airlines Center) becomes the Southwest Airlines Center.

Development News

The Potawatomi Casino Hotel was approved at the City Plan Commission on Monday and will move to the Zoning & Neighborhood Development Committee.

The East Library project, now to be known as The Standard at East Library, was also approved at City Plan Commission, but will go to the Public Works Committee (the building complies with zoning).

The owners of Casablanca won approval at the Historic Preservation Commission to erect a second-story.

The Highland Ave Pedestrian Bridge is closed (or technically speaking, open) until early March thanks to a failure of an operating valve in the bridge’s hydraulic system. Given that the Juneau Avenue Bridge is also closed, the closing is a significant inconvenience to Bradley Center event goers that arrive from east of the river and to the night-time bar patron between Old World Third Street and Water Street.

The single wind turbine the city built at the south end of the Port of Milwaukee is nearly ready for operation. It’s about half the size of the ones erected elsewhere in Wisconsin. The project was funded through a stimulus grant, the state’s Focus on Energy program, and We Energies.

The detailed plan development for the Milwaukee School of Engineering Parking Garage proposal for land that used to be in the Park East redevelopment corridor was approved by the Zoning & Neighborhood Development Committee as well as the full Common Council and is awaiting Tom Barrett’s John Hancock.

Openings and Closing

Good News

c. 1880 (which I’ve also seen titled Circa 1880), a restaurant focused on Wisconsin ingredients, is set to open at 1100 S. 1st Street in the former Marchese’s Olive Pit space.

Clutch, a previously mentioned bar/restaurant, will open as a tapas restaurant as early as late March in the former La Piazza space at 1504 E. North Ave owned by the Mandel Group. Siam “Sam” Saeng, who also co-owns Screaming Tuna in the Mandel-managed First Place on the River space is the owner of the new restaurant.

My Yo My!, a frozen yogurt shop, will open at 100 S. Water Street in Walker’s Point in early to mid-April says owner Ken Thompson.

Pizzeria Piccola, a Bartolotta group restaurant, has opened at Concourse C at General Mitchell. The menu is a somewhat smaller version of the other Pizzeria Piccola in the Wauwatosa village.

Sven’s Cafe should be opening any day now on N. Water Street in the former Steamer’s space according to their previously announced schedule.

The SURG restaurant group is taking over Bradford Beach starting this summer. The beach was formerly managed by the Hi-Hat Group.

Ugly’s Pub and Grill will open this summer in the building where Asian Mart is currently located at 1125 N. Old World Third Street.

Von Trier is set to start serving food in early March in the form of “upscale small plates”. I hope the popcorn and pretzel sticks live on.

Bad News

Asian Market will close shortly. Owner Carmelino Capati is retiring.

Libiamo’s is closing on March 24th because of a “combination of a lot of things.” Major construction (or destruction) will begin sometime in the near future to remove the adjacent Schlitz Brewhouse building. Owner Dean Cannestra also owns and operates Nessun Dorma in Riverwest.

Rupena’s at the Milwaukee Public Market is closing at the end of February. The restaurant opened at the market in late 2008, and has another location at 7641 W. Beloit Road, West Allis. The Milwaukee Public Market is finalizing a deal with another vendor for the space.

Political and Election News

Milwaukee County Supervisor Patricia Jursik is apparently scared of Patrick Farley. Farley is the Milwaukee County employee who wore a wire in the Johnny Thomas bribery case. Jursik remarked “Every time I get together with Pat Farley, guess what I’m wondering.”

I was completely, 100% wrong regarding who Angel Sanchez would support in the race for 12th District Alderman. Sanchez is supporting Witkowiak. The low-turnout primary breakdown was as follows: Perez 49%, Witkowiak 35.5%, and Sanchez 15.5%.

Photo of the Week

Milwaukee map by wrokic

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